Averages:

An average is a measure of central tendency. A measure of central tendency describes a set of data by
locating the middle region. Four common averages are the mean, median, mode and midrange.

The mean is the sum of all the values divided by the number of all values.

Mean =
∑ of values x=
Ʃx
number of values n

The notation x represents the mean value.

The notation Ʃx (sigma x) represents the sum of all values.

The letter n represents the total number of values.

Example 1: Find the mean of the values. 10, 15, 12, 11, 20

10+15+12+11+20 68
x= = x= 13.6
5 5
Median:
Another average is the median designated by M. The median of a set of numbers is the number that is
in the middle when the numbers are arranged from low to high. When there is an even number of
numbers (no “true” middle number), add the two middle numbers and divide by 2 (take their mean).

n+1
For n values arranged smallest to largest (or vice versa), the median position is .
2
Example 2: Find the median. 10, 14, 12, 9, 8, 7, 6, 4, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4

Arrange them in order. 4, 4, 6, 6, 7, 8, 8, 9, 10, 10, 12, 12, 14

n=13 since there are 13 numbers in the list.

13+1 14
The median position = = = 7th position
2 2
The 7th number in the list is the median. Therefore, the median is 8.

Example 3: Find the median of the data. 6, 5, 4, 8, 8, 7

Arrange them in order. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 8 n=6

6+1 7
The median position = = =3.5th
2 2
The 3.5th item falls halfway between the 3rd and 4th values (6 and 7). Add the two numbers and divide by
two to obtain the median.
 1
M = 6 +7 = 13 = 6.5 or 6 so M = 6.5
2
The median is not affected by extreme values. When there are extreme values, the median gives a
better picture of the data than the mean.

Example 4: Find the mean and median. 10, 12, 10, 14, 30

10+12+ 10+14+30 76
x = mean = = = 15.2
5 5
M = median = 10, 10, 12, 14, 30 = 12

The median 12 gives a better picture of the data here than the mean of 15.2.

Mode:
The mode for a given set of data is that number that occurs most frequently. If no number occurs more
than once, then there is no mode. There can be more than one mode.

Example 5: Find the mode. 10, 12, 14, 12, 14, 13, 15, 14, 18

The mode is 14.

Example 6: Find the mode. 10, 12, 10, 14, 12, 15, 18, 9

The data has two modes, 10 and 12. It is bimodal.

Example 7: Find the mode. 7, 3, 8, 9, 4, 2, 1, 6

The data has no mode. Each value occurs only once.

Midrange:
Another measure of central tendency is the midrange. This is found by taking the lowest piece of data
Lowest + Highest
and adding the highest piece of data and dividing by 2. Midrange =
2

Example 8: Find the midrange. 3, 8, 10, 12, 12, 15, 21

 3+21 24
Midrange = = =12 The midrange is 12.
2 2

Grade Point Average:

Example: 1 credit of A = 4pts. 1 credit of B = 3

total points pts. 1 credit of C = 2 pts. 1 credit of D = 1 pt. F=0.
GPA =
number of credits
Sue received 3 credits of A worth 4 pts. each = 12 pt. 2 credits of A worth 4 pts. each = 8 pts.

3 credits of C worth 2 pts. each = 6 pts. 2 credits of B worth 3 pts. each = 6 pts.

32
Total credits = 10 Total points = 32 Average = = 3.2
10

Percentile Rank:
Percentile rank is a measure of position. The percentile rank refers to the percent of scores that are
below a given score. If Sue ranked at the 88 th percentile, then 88% of the scores were below her score.

Rank refers to a position from the top. If John ranks third in his class, then there are two people above
him with a higher average.

Example 9: In a class of 20 students Sally ranked 8 th. What was her percentile rank?

If Sally ranked 8th, there were 20 minus 8 below her in the class. There were 12 people below her.
Percentile rank refers to the percent below her: 12/20 = 60%. Sally was at the 60 th percentile.

Example 10: Bob scored at the 80th percentile on an exam. There were 50 people in the class. How many
score lower than him?

If Bob scored at the 80th percentile, then he scored better than 80% of the class. 80% of the class had
scores below his score. To find 80% of the class, multiply .80 times 50 since there were 50 people in the
class. .80 × 50 = 40 40 people scored lower than Bob on the test

Example 11: Jan has a percentile rank of 20. What is her rank in a class of 40?

20% of the class is below Jan. .20 × 40 = 8. 8 people are below Jan. 40-8 =32.

Jan ranks 32nd from the top in her class.

Example 12: Consider the scores: 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 18, 20, 22, 24, 28

Bob had a score of 12. What is Bob’s percentile rank? What was Bob’s rank?

Four scores were below Bob? Percentile rank refers to the percent of scores below Bob. 4/10 scores are
below Bob’s score. 4/10 = .40 = 40%. Bob’s percentile rank was 40. Rank refers to position from the top.
Bob’s rank is 6th from the top.

Quartiles:
Data is often divided into quarters called quartiles. The first quartile is the value which has 25% of the
data below it. The first quartile and the 25 th percentile are the same. They are denoted by P25 (25th
percentile) and Q 1 (first quartile).

The second quartile is the value which has 50% of the data below it. The second quartile, the 50 th
percentile and the median are all the same. They are denoted by median (M), second quartile (Q 2) and
the 50th percentile ( P50).

M = P50 = Q 2

When asked to find the second quartile, follow the same procedure as finding the median.

The third quartile is the value which has 75% of the data below it. The third quartile and the 75 th
percentile are the same. P75 = Q 3

Example 13: Consider the data: 35, 40, 50, 60, 65, 65, 70, 75, 80, 90, 95, 95

Find the score at the first quartile, median (second quartile), and the third quartile.

Solution: First quartile equals 25th percentile. There are 12 scores. 25% of the data must be below this
score. 25% of the 12 scores = .25 × 12 = 3 Three scores must be below this score. Therefore, the score is
60.

12+1 13
n=12 Median position = = = 6.5
2 2
65+70
The score is at the 6.5 position. The score is halfway between 65 and 70. M = = 67.5. The
2
median is 67.5.

Third quartile equals the 75ht percentile. There are 12 scores. 75% of the data must be below this score.
75% of the 12 scores = .75 × 12 = 9. Nine scores are below this core. Therefore the score is 90.

Standard Deviation:
Standard deviation (denoted s or sx), is a measure of dispersion. A measure of dispersion tells how much
the data tend to disperse or scatter. This is also known as “Spread” about the mean.
To calculate one type of standard deviation (the one in your book):

1. Calculate the mean of the values

2. Subtract the mean from each value (its “deviation” from the mean). Note: The sum of
the deviations will ALWAYS = 0 (except for rounding error).
3. Square each of the values found in step 2 (to avoid negative values)
4. Add the values found in step 3 (Sum of the squared deviations)
5. Divide your answer by the number of values in the set (Mean of the squared deviations).
(NOTE: The more accepted standard deviation divides by n-1 here. These are the
“Degrees of freedom”. If you know all but one deviation from the mean and the sum is
zero, you could calculate the last deviation. We are not doing this version however.)
6. Square root the answer found in step 5 (since we squared it previously).
7. NOTE: The standard deviation has the same label as your data.

Example 14: Find the standard deviation for the set of values: 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 15

6+7+ 9+11+12+15 60
Step 1: Mean = = = 10
6 6

Value Step 2: Value – Mean Step 3: (Value – Mean)2

6 6 – 10 = -4 (−4)2=16
7 7 – 10 = -3 (−3)2=9
9 9 – 10 = -1 (−1)2=1
11 11 – 10 = 1 (1)2=1
12 12 – 10 = 2 (2)2=4
15 15 – 10 = 5 (5)2=25
Step 4: Total = 56

56
Step 5: = 9.33… Step 6: √ 9.33 … ≈ 3.055
6

Normal Curve:
The normal curve is a bell-shaped curve showing a distribution of probability associated with different
values of a random variable. On the curve, the mean is the center and each interval is one standard
deviation.
 Mean
One Standard Deviation

For distributions having a bell-shape:

A. About 68% of the values lie within one standard deviation above the mean and one
standard deviation below the mean.
B. About 95% of the values lie within two standard deviations above and two standard
deviations below the mean.
C. About 99.7% of the values lie within three standard deviations above the mean and
three standard deviations below the mean.
D. 50% of the values lie to the right of the mean and 50% of the values lie to the left of the
mean.

Table 3 gives what percentage of the data is contained within certain distances from the mean. For
example, if you look up 1 standard deviation on the table you find that 34.1% (nearest tenth) of the data
lie within 1 standard deviation of the mean.

Example 15: An examination is given and the scores are approximately normally distributed with a mean
of 80 and a standard deviation of 5. For each part of the example, draw the normal curve with the mean
in the center and three standard deviations above the mean and three standard deviations below the
mean. Then shade the part of the curve that the example asks for.

A. What percentage of the scores are between 80 and 90?

65 70 75 80 85 90 95

The distance between 80 and 90 is two standard deviations. Table 3 indicates that 47.7% of the scores
lie within two standard deviations of the mean. Therefore 47.7% of the scores are between 80 and 90.
 B. What percentage of the scores are between 70 and 80?

65 70 75 80 85 90 95

The distance between 70 and 80 is two standard deviations. Table 3 indicates that 47.7% of the scores
lie within two standard deviations of the mean. Therefore 47.7% of the scores are between 70 and 80.

The percentage is found in part a and b is the same because a normal curve is symmetrical and whether
you are two standard deviations above or two standard deviations below the mean, the percentage is
the same.

C. What percent of the scores are between 75 and 90?

65 70 75 80 85 90 95
The distance between
75 and 80 is one standard deviation and from Table 3 we get 34.1%. The distance between 80 and 90 is
two standard deviations and 47.7%. Adding these distances, we get the shaded part of the curve we
want: 34.1 + 47.7 = 81.8. Therefore 81.8% of the scores are between 75 and 90.

D. What percentage of the scores are more than 90?

65 70 75 80 85 90 95
In parts A-C the area we were trying to find was always around the mean or center of the curve. In this
part the area we need to find is not around the mean so we will need to use a different method to find
the percentage.

If we take the area to the right of 80 and subtract form it the area between 80 and 90, we will be left
with the area we want.

65 70 75 80 85 90 95
We know that 50% of the scores lie to the right of 80 and that 47.7% of the scores are between 80 and
90: 50% - 47.7% = 2.3% Therefore 2.3% of scores are more than 90.

A. What percent of the scores are between 85 and 90?

65 70 75 80 85 90 95
If we take the distance between 80 and 90 and subtract from ti the distance between 80 and 85 we will
get the shaded part of the curve we want. 47.7% of the scores are between 80 and 90 and 34.1% of the
scores are between 80 and 85: 47.7 – 34.1 = 13.6%. Therefore 13.6% of the scores fall between 85 and
90.

In example 15, the values were exactly 1, 2, or 3 standard deviations away from the mean. Sometimes,
however, the values will not be an exact standard deviation away from the mean. Instead they may lie
somewhere between the standard deviations. Using the information from example 15, what percentage
of the cores are between 80 and 87?
 65 70 75 80 85 90 95
87

87 lies between the first and second deviation from the mean. To determine exactly where 87 lies use
the following formula (called the z-score):

your value−mean 87−80 7

Z= so, = = 1.4
standard deviation 5 5
87 is 1.4 standard deviations away from the mean (to the right of the mean since it is positive). From
Table 3 we find that 1.4 standard deviations indicate that 41.9% of the scores are between 80 and 87.

Example 16: On an exam the scores are approximately normally distributed with a mean of 100 and a
standard deviation of 7.

A. What percentage of the scores are between 82 and 100?

79 86 93 100 107 114 121

82
82 is 2.6 deviations below the mean. From Table 3, we find that 49.5% of the scores are between 82 and
100.

B. What percentage of the scores are between 105 and 113?

 79 86 93 100 107 114 121

105 113
25.8% of the scores lie within .7 deviations of the mean. 47.1% of the scores lie within 1.9 deviations of
the mean: 47.1-25.8 = 21.3%. Therefore 21.3% of the scores are between 105 and 113.

Problems
1. mean (11.46), mode (10), median (11), midrange (12): 10, 12, 10, 11, 12, 10, 10, 12, 10, 11, 14, 14, 13

2. mean (35.27), mode (28 and 48), median (32), midrange (35): 20, 28, 42, 38, 25, 48, 50, 29, 48, 28, 32

3. mean (87.8), mode (75, 84, 88, 92, and 100), median (88), midrange (87.5): 100, 88, 92, 75, 84

4. Bob received the following grades. 3 credits of A, 3 credits of F, 2 credits of B, 3 credits of C

Find Bob’s grade point average. 2.27

5. Jane received the following grades. 3 credits of C, 3 credits of B, 2 credits of A

Find Jane’s grade point average. 2.88

6. Mary’s percentile rank is 90. There are 500 students in her class. What’s Mary’s class rank? 450th

7. Sue scored at the 70th percentile on an exam. There were 210 students who took the test. How many
people scored below Sue? 147 What was Sue’s rank on the test? 148th

8. In a class of 50, Bob ranked 10th. What was his percentile rank? 80th

9. John scored at the 20th percentile on the exam. There were 200 students who took the exam. How
many scored lower than John? 40 What was John’s rank on the exam? 160th

10. Jan ranks 10th in a class of 100 students. What is her percentile rank? 90th

11. Consider the scores: 3, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20 June had a score of 16. What was her
percentile rank? 60th What was her rank? 4th

12. Consider the scores: 10, 10, 60, 80, 95, 98, 100, 100, 100, 100 Sally had a score of 60. What
was her percentile rank? 20th What was her rank? 8th
13. Consider the data: 8, 10, 12, 14, 15, 18, 20, 22, 24, 28, 30, 32 Find the score at the first
quartile (14), second quartile (19), and third quartile (28).

14. Consider the data: 10, 12, 15, 19, 22, 24, 28, 30, 32, 33, 36, 38, 40, 42, 44, 46 Find the score
at the first quartile (22), second quartile (31), and third quartile (40).

15. Find the standard deviation. 8.347 5, 12, 18, 19, 22, 32

16. Find the standard deviation. 12.236 59, 72, 81, 84, 87, 92, 99

17. On an examination, the scores are approximately normally distributed with a mean of 50 and a
standard deviation of 8.

A. What percentage of the scores are between 42 and 58? 68%

B. What percentage of the scores are between 36 and 50? 46.3%
C. What percentage of the scores are between 52 and 60? 43.9%
D. What percentage of the scores are between 58 and 66? 13.6%
E. What percentage of the scores are more than 60? 20.9%
F. What percentage of the scores are less than 30? 11.7%